ACC football is ready for another season as we take a look at where teams stand in the first edition of conference power rankings.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is prime for a big season. The ACC saw 43 players drafted in the 2017 NFL Draft, second only to the SEC who had 53 players selected.
The Clemson Tigers return as defending National Champions and with that, a ton of expectations for 2017. The Tigers have won two straight Atlantic division titles and will look to make in three in a row this season. They will battle it out with the Florida State Seminoles and Louisville Cardinals for conference supremacy.
On the other side, many believe the Miami Hurricanes to be the favorite in the Coastal division. However, don’t count out the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies won the division last season after going 6-2 in ACC play. They were the surprise of the conference in 2016 but 2017, they should surprise no one.
The ACC will probably be home to a few tough defenses in 2017 as well. The Tigers should have a top 10 defense as should the Seminoles. The Hokies and North Carolina Tar Heels are expected to have strong seasons, but just how strong? Check it all out in this week’s edition of ACC Power Rankings.
It was a rough season one for Bronco Mendenhall and company. It seemed things got out of hand quickly for the first-year head coach. While he does return a lot of the production from last season, the Cavaliers still have work to do in the ACC.
The Cavaliers have to replace playmaker Taquan Mizzell on offense, so until then, they’re the worst team in the league. Quarterback Kurt Benkert returns looking to have a better senior season. He’ll have Doni Dowling and Olamide Zaccheaus in the passing game to work with in order to improve.
The Boston College Eagles weren’t all that bad in 2016. After all, they qualified for the Quick Lane Bowl and won 36-30 over the Maryland Terrapins.
They’ve got proven a runner in running back Jon Hilliman and a guy who has a future playing on Sundays in defensive end Harold Landry. If the offense can make strides to keep pace with the defense, the Eagles could very easily climb up the rankings.
However, for now, they’re in the bottom of the pack with the Cavaliers.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons made their first bowl appearance since 2012 this past season. Head coach Dave Clawson enters year four looking to improve on his 7-6 finish in 2016.
The Demon Deacons defense carried them throughout much of the season. They allowed just 22.2 points per game on defense, third in the ACC. Now that those coaches are gone, however, we’ll see how the Demon Deacons respond.
Linebacker Duke Ejiofor leads the way after registering 10.5 sacks last season. He’ll be looked to anchor a defense that returns just five starters in 2017.
The Syracuse Orange are another team looking to turn a corner in the ACC. They went 2-6 in conference play last season, stealing victories against Virginia Tech and Boston College in back-to-back weeks.
Their offense is nothing to scoff at, as it ranked second last season in passing yards per game (321.3). It’s everywhere else where the Orange need to improve. Defensively, they allowed 38.6 points per game, 120th in the FBS.
In year two under head coach Dino Babers, the Orange will look to improve upon their mistakes. They return 19 starters on both sides of the ball.
The Duke Blue Devils took a few steps back in 2016 after going 8-5 in 2015. The Blue Devils went 4-8 (1-7 ACC) a season ago under head coach David Cutcliffe.
Inexperienced quarterback play and holes on defense left the Blue Devils exposed on many fronts. They hope the 2017 season ends a bit better but there’s still room for improvement for the Duke football program.
Quarterback Daniel Jones will use his first-year as starter as a stepping stone in 2017 with experienced receivers Johnathan Lloyd and T.J. Rahming on the field. Expect the Blue Devils to climb the rankings sooner rather than later.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are another team that struggled mightily in 2016, at least in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets won nine games to finish the season, but won just four games in conference play.
Their defense didn’t have the strength up front to put much pressure on quarterbacks and as a result, the outcome didn’t go in Georgia Tech’s favor.
Quarterback Justin Thomas is now gone and now enters Matthew Jordan. Jordan gave fans a preview of his abilities in the Yellow Jackets upset victory of the Hokies 30-20 in Blacksburg. Jordan ran for 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 32 rushing attempts in the game.
The Pittsburgh Panthers got a gift in graduate transfer Max Browne, formerly a backup quarterback with the USC Trojans. Browne hopes his experience can carry him to better success with the Panthers in the ACC.
Browne has weapons in Jester Weah, Quadree Henderson and Qadree Ollison to do well. He’ll just need to pass the ball efficiently. The biggest question is the Pittsburgh defense, which returns just three starters from 2016.
Safety Jordan Whitehead still leads a solid group in the secondary with cornerback Avonte Maddox in the wings.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are another team that acquired a graduate transfer at quarterback. Former LSU Tigers quarterback Brandon Harris joined the program this past offseason and looks to pick up where Mitch Trubisky left off.
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Wide receiver Austin Proehl leads an inexperienced wide receiving corps. Proehl caught 43 passes for 597 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season.
The Tar Heels biggest strength in 2017 should be their defense. The defensive line returns 11 of its top 13 contributors and the secondary looks to improve with M.J. Stewart at cornerback.
The NC State Wolfpack should be this year’s surprise team in the ACC. They return eight starters on both sides of the ball and have one of the best defensive lines in the conference.
Defensive end Bradley Chubb leads an experience group of lineman into the 2017 season. Chubb recorded 21.0 tackles for loss and 10.0 sacks last year.
The secondary must replace three starters but the rest of the defense remains intact. The Wolfpack allowed just 108.6 rushing yards per game in 2016, second in the ACC.
The Miami Hurricanes look good on paper, but they still have to prove themselves. They started the 2016 season 4-0 before losing four straight games, three in ACC play. Their offense stalled against the Seminoles, Tar Heels and Hokies last year.
This year, those three teams are on the schedule. The Hurricanes will need to beat those three teams this season if they hope to win their first ACC Coastal crown in school history.
The Virginia Tech Hokies are my early darkhorse to win the ACC Coastal division. They’ve got the defense to contend for the Coastal, but the offense has some holes to fill.
Youth is the name of the game on offense. Wide receiver Cam Phillips is the most experienced receiving target entering 2017. Redshirt freshman Josh Jackson will have an opportunity to lead the offense at quarterback.
Look for Jackson to turn heads with both his arm and legs.
The Louisville Cardinals are currently the third-best team in the ACC, however, wins over Clemson and/or Florida State could change all of that. 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson will look to re-establish his offense by reloading at key positions.
Wide receiver Reggie Bonnafon has been “Mr. Plug-and-Play” for the Cardinals’ offense and should be featured a ton in this year’s offense. The wide receivers are also a group to watch as Jackson looks to improve on his accuracy as a passer.
The Clemson Tigers return this season looking to defend not only the National Championship but also the ACC title. The Tigers won their second ACC title in a row this past season, going 7-1 in the Atlantic division last season.
Their lone loss last season came at the hands of the Pittsburgh Panthers at home but that was their only hiccup in 2016. 2017 brings its own form of challenges as they look to replace quarterback Deshaun Watson with quarterback Kelly Bryant.
The Florida State Seminoles begin this year’s ACC power rankings as the number one team. They’re stacked on defense and return the best defensive player in the conference in safety Derwin James.
Quarterback Deondre Francois has one year under his belt as starter. Year two starts with him facing the Alabama Crimson Tide in Dallas, Texas. All eyes will be on Francois as he looked upon to have a big game.
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He’ll need to re-establish the backfield, whether Jacques Patrick or Cam Akers starts in the backfield. In the passing game, he’ll hope to bring along wide receivers Nyqwan Murray, Auden Tate and Keith Gavin and win the ACC title.